Kadri's Overtime Winner Clouded in Controversy

Colorado Avalanche forward Nazim Kadri returned to the lineup and made his impact by scoring the overtime game-winning goal. The puck kind of got stuck underneath the back bar, so it was unclear at first where the puck was and that it actually went in the net.

The delayed response was not the only bit of controversy with the goal. In Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper's post game press conference, he made an odd statement saying, "You're gonna see what I mean when you see the winning goal. My heart breaks for the players because we probably still should be playing."

Furthermore, the official scoresheet also shows there were six Avalanche players on the ice at the time of the goal.

Too many men can be a difficult penalty to call, especially with a non-definitive buffer zone while changing. The hardest part about this goal, and probably the main complaint from the Bolts is that Kadri was actually the extra guy. He appears to touch the puck before the man he is changing for has successfully made it to the bench.

On the flip side, just before the goal, while Tampa did not have control of the puck, they actually had seven players on the ice. That can also be considered too many men.

NHL Hockey Operations released the following statement regarding too many men on the ice in the midst of the overtime goal.

At the end of the day, a 2-2 tied series is much different than a 3-1 series lead heading home. After the first period, the Avalanche flat outplayed the Lightning and deserved to win that game. The Avs brought it in overtime, and Kadri scored a beautiful goal to win the game. This call or non-call really was not a factor in the goal, and the better team won Game 5.

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